We're here at E3 2016!

The biggest video game convention of the year has begun

Ah, summer. Bees are buzzing, birds are singing and the largest video game convention in the country, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), is taking over downtown Los Angeles.

It's a beautiful time of the year.

The convention kicked off Sunday, June 12 at 1pm Pacific/9pm BST with EA's untraditional Play community event at LA Live's Club Nokia and will close up shop on Friday, June 17.

In between we'll see keynotes from Bethesda, Microsoft, Ubisoft and Sony, the second annual PC Gaming Show and a special, Legend of Zelda-themed Nintendo Direct Digital Event.

What's coming down the warp pipe?

The big three console manufacturers – Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo – are all rumored to have new hardware at this year's show. While Sony has announced the existence of its new system, called the PlayStation 4 Neo, it told press that it won't be on display at this year's event. Not publicly at least.

As for the Nintendo NX, well, it's anyone's guess if Nintendo will pull the trigger now or wait a few months until the buzz from E3 dies down.

On the games front we've already seen more Mass Effect Andromeda footage at EA's afternoon keynote and expect to see updates on Crackdown at Microsoft's keynote, and Final Fantasy VII Remake and The Last Guardian at Sony's event tomorrow evening.

While it's hard to imagine E3 2016 topping last year's show, new hardware announcements alongside the unveiling of the long-awaited Legend of Zelda Wii U title might make this year's event one for the memory books.